(7) watching all the wildcard teams beating up each other. This weekend, Tampa vs Baltimore, Texas vs Kansas City. Then last three games of the year, Tampa vs NYY.

====================================

Yankees still have a pretty good chance at a wild card. Their last 12 games included 9 against last place teams with 3 each the Jays, SF Giants & Houston the very last 3. They could have swept all but are only 1-1 vs Jays with one to go. What might be key for each team, the Rays & NY, is their 3 game series. Personally, I'd rather face the Yankees than Tampa. Keep in mind our last 3 are against a nemesis who have won the 1st two in a current series & 3rd game tonight, the Orioles at Camden Field. We could decide their playoff destiny and again I'd still prefer to play the Yankees. No. 1 choice would be Cleveland, Francona or not.

(7) watching all the wildcard teams beating up each other. This weekend, Tampa vs Baltimore, Texas vs Kansas City. Then last three games of the year, Tampa vs NYY.

====================================

Yankees still have a pretty good chance at a wild card. Their last 12 games included 9 against last place teams with 3 each the Jays, SF Giants & Houston the very last 3. They could have swept all but are only 1-1 vs Jays with one to go. What might be key for each team, the Rays & NY, is their 3 game series. Personally, I'd rather face the Yankees than Tampa. Keep in mind our last 3 are against a nemesis who have won the 1st two in a current series & 3rd game tonight, the Orioles at Camden Field. We could decide their playoff destiny and again I'd still prefer to play the Yankees. No. 1 choice would be Cleveland, Francona or not.

agree with you about facing the Yankees and the Indians in the post season is our preferences. That is why i am rooting for them, but the Orioles also may have an easier chance to get one of the two wildcard spot if they win tonite and do well in Tampa for four games series. Orioles's last six home games are three against Toronto and three against Boston which this series may be meaningless for Boston.

But in someway, I think that if Boston clinch the homefield advantage thru out the playoff at the same time Boston see that there may be a possible 3 to 4 teams tying for the wildcard spots. I think Boston would purposely try to either win or lose on purpose to force Orioles to tie with more than two teams in the wildcard standing, and make a mess out of it!!

I ain't in. It is wrong for a member of the Red Sox Nation or a New Englander to count those chickens before the eggs are hatched. A true fan worries incessantly.

For example, I went mildly beserk last night when we lost our second straight at home to the Orioles, who are now very much in the wild card hunt.

Yes, we are a virtual shoo-in for the AL East, but we are still competing for the home field advantage against Detroit or Oakland, plus right now it looks like the Orioles might be the one team we don't want to fact in the ALDS or ALCS.

None of the above in any way refutes the recitation in the OP. All of those good things are true. And it is beyond question that the Sox doing this well a year after 2012 and two years after September 2012 is a Beautiful Thing.

Also about the OP, I think we are long past the nemesis thing in 2013. We want our guys to get to the WS because they are that good, but there are a number of pretty good AL teams who can stop us, and none of them are the Yankees.

But the O's do scare me. I lived through several seasons in the seventies when RS were in the hunt, the O's would come to town and take 4 out of 4, then do something similar in their park and before you knew it, RS did not even make the playoffs.

Granted that RS will make the playoffs this year but will need to do all the little and big things to go deep into the playoffs, particularly against the O's.

Why we are so worry about Baltimore? Remember Showalter loves September call ups where he can use as many pitchers as he can. Last Year Orioles went 20-11 to grab the last wildcard spot after they were three games behind Tampa as of Sept 1st of 2012.

Why we are so worry about Baltimore? Remember Showalter loves September call ups where he can use as many pitchers as he can. Last Year Orioles went 20-11 to grab the last wildcard spot after they were three games behind Tampa as of Sept 1st of 2012.

Orioles are doing the same thing again.

Whoever gets the WC positions have to play each other before they get to the Big Show. They are not going to have their No1, No 2, or closer anywhere near fresh. Unless, that is, one of them runs off a string of 7 for 8 or something that last week or so, and that's not likely to happen,

Why we are so worry about Baltimore? Remember Showalter loves September call ups where he can use as many pitchers as he can. Last Year Orioles went 20-11 to grab the last wildcard spot after they were three games behind Tampa as of Sept 1st of 2012.

Orioles are doing the same thing again.

Whoever gets the WC positions have to play each other before they get to the Big Show. They are not going to have their No1, No 2, or closer anywhere near fresh. Unless, that is, one of them runs off a string of 7 for 8 or something that last week or so, and that's not likely to happen,

You re exactly right. That is why i am not worry too much about which wildcard teams that Boston should worry about the most. Best way is to have at least four to five teams fight themselves until the end of the season where they will be all worn out. At the same time, they will have to force to use one starter, but like I said, if there is three way tie, and that is going to be a huge impact on wildcard teams cuz they will be force to use at least two starters!!

(7) watching all the wildcard teams beating up each other. This weekend, Tampa vs Baltimore, Texas vs Kansas City. Then last three games of the year, Tampa vs NYY.

====================================

Yankees still have a pretty good chance at a wild card. Their last 12 games included 9 against last place teams with 3 each the Jays, SF Giants & Houston the very last 3. They could have swept all but are only 1-1 vs Jays with one to go. What might be key for each team, the Rays & NY, is their 3 game series. Personally, I'd rather face the Yankees than Tampa. Keep in mind our last 3 are against a nemesis who have won the 1st two in a current series & 3rd game tonight, the Orioles at Camden Field. We could decide their playoff destiny and again I'd still prefer to play the Yankees. No. 1 choice would be Cleveland, Francona or not.

Catching up is always difficult for a team in a tight race, but particularly so when rigor mortis is setting in.

I was gonna lambast a couple negative whiners who seem to miss all the good stuff, or give liop service to the good stuff only to make it a back handed compliment ....

So I thank you for both a smile or two and a proper handling of most stuff. I am a little surprised at Victorino having a hard time in CF - he is supposed to be one, after all. He has played a spectacular RF, so I wonder if it is just the deep triangle of Fenway that has him banboozled. But all together, Victorino has been a higher performer than I expected...and I thought he'd do well. Perhaps it's his hamstring .... :oP

But who can really find fault at this team and it's great turn around. Heck, we have historical references to the 1946 Sox as a comparison. How outstanding is that????

I was gonna lambast a couple negative whiners who seem to miss all the good stuff, or give liop service to the good stuff only to make it a back handed compliment ....

So I thank you for both a smile or two and a proper handling of most stuff. I am a little surprised at Victorino having a hard time in CF - he is supposed to be one, after all. He has played a spectacular RF, so I wonder if it is just the deep triangle of Fenway that has him banboozled. But all together, Victorino has been a higher performer than I expected...and I thought he'd do well. Perhaps it's his hamstring .... :oP

But who can really find fault at this team and it's great turn around. Heck, we have historical references to the 1946 Sox as a comparison. How outstanding is that????

Thank you for the kind words; I was also a little surprised at the couple of wrong turns, etc. that Victorino has made in CF this week. However, I think he's hurting enough, in a lot of places, that would affect him on balls hit to places where there's a lot of running needed (over his head, especially)

(7) watching all the wildcard teams beating up each other. This weekend, Tampa vs Baltimore, Texas vs Kansas City. Then last three games of the year, Tampa vs NYY.

====================================

Yankees still have a pretty good chance at a wild card. Their last 12 games included 9 against last place teams with 3 each the Jays, SF Giants & Houston the very last 3. They could have swept all but are only 1-1 vs Jays with one to go. What might be key for each team, the Rays & NY, is their 3 game series. Personally, I'd rather face the Yankees than Tampa. Keep in mind our last 3 are against a nemesis who have won the 1st two in a current series & 3rd game tonight, the Orioles at Camden Field. We could decide their playoff destiny and again I'd still prefer to play the Yankees. No. 1 choice would be Cleveland, Francona or not.

I want the Yankees out asap. Would hate to face them. Not that I fear the team, I think they are pretty weak at the moment....but the horrible pain of losing to them in their current condition is unthinkable. And I wouldn't put it past them, either.

(7) watching all the wildcard teams beating up each other. This weekend, Tampa vs Baltimore, Texas vs Kansas City. Then last three games of the year, Tampa vs NYY.

====================================

Yankees still have a pretty good chance at a wild card. Their last 12 games included 9 against last place teams with 3 each the Jays, SF Giants & Houston the very last 3. They could have swept all but are only 1-1 vs Jays with one to go. What might be key for each team, the Rays & NY, is their 3 game series. Personally, I'd rather face the Yankees than Tampa. Keep in mind our last 3 are against a nemesis who have won the 1st two in a current series & 3rd game tonight, the Orioles at Camden Field. We could decide their playoff destiny and again I'd still prefer to play the Yankees. No. 1 choice would be Cleveland, Francona or not.

I want the Yankees out asap. Would hate to face them. Not that I fear the team, I think they are pretty weak at the moment....but the horrible pain of losing to them in their current condition is unthinkable. And I wouldn't put it past them, either.

I was gonna lambast a couple negative whiners who seem to miss all the good stuff, or give liop service to the good stuff only to make it a back handed compliment ....

So I thank you for both a smile or two and a proper handling of most stuff. I am a little surprised at Victorino having a hard time in CF - he is supposed to be one, after all. He has played a spectacular RF, so I wonder if it is just the deep triangle of Fenway that has him banboozled. But all together, Victorino has been a higher performer than I expected...and I thought he'd do well. Perhaps it's his hamstring .... :oP

But who can really find fault at this team and it's great turn around. Heck, we have historical references to the 1946 Sox as a comparison. How outstanding is that????

The circumstances were far different, since '45 was a war yr. Which happens to make what happened now all the more impressive.

I was gonna lambast a couple negative whiners who seem to miss all the good stuff, or give liop service to the good stuff only to make it a back handed compliment ....

So I thank you for both a smile or two and a proper handling of most stuff. I am a little surprised at Victorino having a hard time in CF - he is supposed to be one, after all. He has played a spectacular RF, so I wonder if it is just the deep triangle of Fenway that has him banboozled. But all together, Victorino has been a higher performer than I expected...and I thought he'd do well. Perhaps it's his hamstring .... :oP

But who can really find fault at this team and it's great turn around. Heck, we have historical references to the 1946 Sox as a comparison. How outstanding is that????

The circumstances were far different, since '45 was a war yr. Which happens to make what happened now all the more impressive.

:o) Your point is well made, Steven.

BTW, a black shroud for you as a way to have suffered through this season. It seems all those years Sox fans have said your fellas are too old and too frail finally found traction (after a half decade or more). Girardi showed his make up and skill through it all. More Yanquis fell this year than the forests that were wiped out by Mt. St. Helens. (If there is pride in suffering, the old catcher showed how ...) Like the aftermath of that disaster, there was life and earlier than many expected.

Heh, we just got over our big blow (BobbyV only a part of that) .... in a season, not 3 or 4 ... so life can come back quickly.